BARD Low Vision: Applying for a BARD Account

Hi, I'm Vikki Vaughan and today we'll learn how to apply for a BARD account. This workshop is intended for users with low vision. If you use a screen-reading program, be sure to check out our screen-reading version of this workshop.

You might be wondering what is BARD? BARD stands for Braille and Audio Reading Download. It's our one-stop shop for all digital books and magazines available through the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled or NLS. Eligible NLS patrons can use their BARD account to access more than 110,000 audio and braille books. BARD also has over 80 current magazines available for downloading. In this series, we'll learn how to apply for a BARD membership, search for and download desired books, and transfer our digital books to a portable cartridge.

Ed Haines: Now that you’ve had a chance to learn a bit with us, we’d like to learn more about you; your name, email address, how you heard about Hadley and your relationship to vision loss.

Learning more will give us a better understanding of how to personalize Hadley just for you. And don’t worry, everything you share with us online will be kept safe and secure. Of course, if you’d prefer to talk through these questions, we’re just a phone call away at 800-323-4238.

Taking these few steps saves your preferences so you can continue right where you left off and track your progress every time you log on. Plus it connects you to the Hadley community, and helps sustain our funding to keep Hadley free of charge. And last but not least, it gives you direct access to experts, like me. Now, where were we?